A march through history

A 1930's recruiting poster illustrates the march through history offered by the Parris Island Museum.

It was mid-August 1900, half a world away in what was then called Peking, China. The U.S. Marine Corps had been sent to help quell the Boxer Rebellion, and Pvt. Daniel “Dan” Joseph Daly was about to make his first foray into military history.

Armed only with a rifle and a bayonet, he single-handedly defended the American consulate against an onslaught of rebels. When reinforcements arrived they found Daly still guarding the entrance and more than 200 slain attackers outside his position. For facing down such impossible odds, he earned his first Medal of Honor. Fifteen years later, Daly received the country’s highest military honor a second time for action against Haitian insurgents, and three years after that, the man dubbed “the fighten’ist Marine” earned the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross for multiple acts of combat heroism in World War I.

Daly’s story is just one of the inspiring accounts of battlefield bravery on display at the Parris Island Museum, located on the grounds of the legendary Marine Corps Recruit Depot. The 10,000-square-foot facility is packed with uniforms, weapons, equipment and photos that detail the history of the Corps from its founding in 1775 through deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The museum also chronicles the rich history of Parris Island, from its earliest Paleoindian habitation thousands of years ago to its important role as a military base. Other exhibits showcase local historical figures, like Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion, who frustrated the British with his unconventional warfare during the Revolutionary War, and Robert Smalls, the African-American Civil War hero and statesman who helped govern Beaufort County during reconstruction.

But it is the personal accounts of courage under fire by individual Marines that make this museum so spectacular. “Preserving their memories and accomplishments, and educating new recruits, their families and the visiting public about their many great achievements is one of our principle goals,” says Curator Kim Zawacki.

To fulfill that mission, the museum’s Memories Project presents the powerful and often emotional stories of local Marine Corps veterans via a touchscreen kiosk. In one video interview, retired Gunnery Sgt. Floyd Wiley, a veteran of World War II, Korean and Vietnam, narrates the story of Pfc. Fernando Luis Garcia. A native of Puerto Rico, Garcia earned the Medal of Honor when he sacrificed his own life to save Wiley by throwing himself on a grenade during the Korean War. Wiley recalls hearing Garcia call out, “I got it, Sarge!” just before the blast knocked him unconscious.

In another video, retired Pfc. William Bryan recounts his harrowing experience storming the beach on Iwo Jima. His description of the ordeal and the relief he felt seeing the U.S. flag flying atop Mt. Suribachi on the fifth day of heavy combat brought him to tears. “Every time I hear our National Anthem, I see that flag,” he says, still visibly moved.

Both Wiley and Bryan are volunteer guides at the museum, and relish the chance to share the history of the Corps with the public and with new recruits.

“They just don’t teach this stuff in history classes anymore,” Wiley says, reflecting on the importance of the museum and its mission. “It tells the whole story, the good and the bad.”